Choices for fourth anniversary gifts include (traditional) fruit and flowers, (modern) linen, silk, or nylon, or (alternate) appliances. On this occasion of the fourth anniversary of “Readin’, Ritin’, But Not Much ‘Rithmetic,” you can probably guess my choice if you have been reading long. Working backwards, appliances are necessary and help my life run more smoothly – at least when they are running smoothly – but they lack oomph for a blog topic. Fabrics interest me a little more since I love to sew, but in my currently chosen lifestyle, most of my life is spent in summer t-shirts or winter sweats.

So I’ll go with tradition and eat a little fruit while I concentrate on flowers. You’ve seen them fairly often if you are a regular reader. I claim Eudora Welty as my role model for alternating gardening and writing. If it was good enough for her, it’s good enough for me. A few flowers will illustrate the celebration.

The passion flower symbolizes, oddly enough, passion. My passion for writing brought me to begin blogging four years ago and continues to keep me going. Unlike much of my writing, there’s no rejection letter possibility. It’s my blog, and I can write whatever I want. If my readers roll their eyes, I’m not there to see. Some days it’s a book review I want to share, some days an issue I care about, and some days just a story that has come to mind.

Several flowers have turned up in the blog from time to time. Queen Anne’s lace stands for delicate femininity, definitely not a match for me since I’ve never known anyone to describe me as delicate. We’ll skip that one. Day lilies are for enthusiasm which fits and magnolias for dignity – not so much. The best fits are the yellow chrysanthemums for friendship and the asters for contentment. The friendly responses and the new friends who’ve added their names to my readers have brought me a great deal of contentment.

Thanks for reading whether you are a regular or a now-and-again. Year five, here I come!